MELBOURNE (AFP): Zheng Qinwen admitted Saturday she has watched Chinese great Li Na’s win in the 2014 Australian Open final “10 times” as she moved a step closer to matching her idol’s exploits.
The 21-year-old, known to her fans as “Queen Wen”, battled into the last 16 with a fighting 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10/8) victory over compatriot Wang Yafan.
Their match was played on Rod Laver Arena, where Li beat Dominika Cibulkova in 2014 to become the first Asian player to lift the trophy at Melbourne Park.
Zheng has previously credited two-time Grand Slam winner Li for putting “a dream seed in my heart” and she was quick to praise her again after coming through against Wang.
“I was sitting there in front of the TV, watching that (2014 final) from the beginning to the end,” said 12th seed Zheng, who was 11 at the time.
“That final I have watched it more than 10 times, so I have a lot of memories.
“I mean, she was an unbelievable player, the first Asian woman who won the Grand Slam. How can you not remember that.”
Zheng, China’s brightest young tennis star, has raced through the rankings to be 15 and is looking to build on a breakthrough 2023.
She won her first WTA title at Palermo and followed it up with a second in Zhengzhou at the back end of the season, while making the last eight at the US Open and winning an Asian Games gold medal.
Her next challenge will come from the unseeded Oceane Dodin, who beat fellow Frenchwoman Clara Burel in straight sets.
Something ‘miraculous’ needed to stop Djokovic
Tennis great Rod Laver suggested Saturday that engravers could start putting Novak Djokovic’s initials on the Australian Open trophy, with something “miraculous” needed to prevent him winning an 11th title.
Laver, the only player to twice win all four singles Grand Slams in the same calendar year, called the Serbian superstar “amazing” and admitted he would be shocked if anyone beat him.
“He has all the shots, he knows exactly when he can play them, when he can’t play them,” the 85-year-old told Australian media after arriving at the tournament from his California home.
“He’s priming himself to get through to the final.”
Laver, who has the centre court at the Australian Open named after him, added that Djokovic’s athletic prowess and tennis brain set him apart from everyone else.
“It almost unfolds in front of him, what he should be doing. He’s a great champion,” said the Australian 11-time Grand Slam winner.
“He serves well. His ground strokes are unbeatable.
“I have to believe unless someone miraculously plays their best tennis to knock him off, they can start putting part of his initials on the trophy now.”
Should Djokovic do as Laver expects, he will win a 25th Grand Slam to surpass Margaret Court’s all-time record.
The 36-year-old dropped sets in his opening two matches at Melbourne Park, when he said he was under the weather.
But he was back on form to coast into a fourth-round meeting with French 20th seed Adrian Mannarino.
Djokovic admits Federer tensions early in career
Novak Djokovic has opened up on how he riled Roger Federer when he broke onto the scene as a cocky upstart but said it only fired up his quest to become the best player in the world.
The Serbian world number one is gunning for a historic 25th Grand Slam in Melbourne, where he has already won the title 10 times.
Djokovic is already the most-decorated player in the men’s game, with two more majors under his belt than the injured Rafael Nadal and four ahead of the retired Federer, fellow members of the so-called “Big Three”.
The 36-year-old enjoyed a storied rivalry with the Swiss great, winning 27 of the 50 matches they played.
He is gunning for an 11th Australian Open in Melbourne to pull clear of Margaret Court, who also has 24 Grand Slam singles crowns.
On Friday, Djokovic coasted past 30th-seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his 100th match at the tournament, looking close to his best after patchy performances in the opening two rounds.
He was asked after his victory on Rod Laver Arena to reflect on his early career as he sought to challenge the established powers in the game.
“I know certainly Federer didn’t like the way I was behaving at the beginning,” he said. “I think it didn’t sit with him well. I don’t know about the others.
“I guess I wasn’t the favourite type of guy to some of the top guys because I was not afraid to say that I want to be the best player in the world.
“I was confident, and I felt like I have the game to back it up.”
But Djokovic, who faces French 20th seed Adrian Mannarino in the last 16, said he never lacked respect.
“Respect is something that I was taught that needs to be present regardless of what is happening,” he said.
“Obviously on the court a lot of things can happen in a kind of heat of a battle. It was a very long time ago now, 20 years since I made my first debut I think on the professional tour. It’s really hard to say who liked me more or less.”
And the Serb gave an insight into what drives him, saying he was fuelled by what he perceived as unfair criticism.
“If I made a mistake, I would admit it and, of course, say I make a mistake, I raise my hand, I apologise or whatever.
“But if the criticism came with no particular reason I think, then I would just keep going in the kind of direction that I chose, and that’s it.
“I knew and I know today that you can’t have everyone liking you, who you are, how you play, how you behave, what you talk about. It’s normal. We’re all different. We are all different preferences.”
